Homelessness Didn't Stop This 40-Year-Old From Earning Her College Degree

At 8 a.m., the University of South
Florida campus is all but deserted. Most students
won't start trickling in for another hour or so and Shawna
Machado, 40, knows this is her chance.

She slips into a bathroom and turns the lock. Despite
appearances, the fourth-year psychology student isn't looking for
a reprieve from another all-night studying session.

She just needs a shower.

Rock bottom

After seven years working as a clinical coordinator, Machado was
laid off in May 2010. With just three months of severance to
float on, she barely made it through the summer before running
out of money to cover rent.

"I panicked knowing that I wasn't degreed in anything," she told
Business Insider in a phone interview
Tuesday. "I didn't know how I'd be able to get another job. I
applied for everything, medical jobs and retail jobs ... I was
called for about three interviews."

Having run away from an abusive home as a teen, Machado
found herself in an equally damaging marriage shortly thereafter.
It took nearly 20 years before she managed to break free and
she's long since severed ties with both parents.

With no job prospects or family to turn to, Machado faced
reality: she sold or donated what she could and packed a few
belongings into her 2007 Hyundai Elantra.

Then she hit the road – for the next two years.

Home(less) schooling

Since that day, Machado's drifted between the homes of close
friends – she won't stay longer than a week for fear of being burdensome – but mostly lives
out of her car.

Despite the circumstances, she decided to continue pursuing her
Bachelor's degree and enrolled at the University of
South Florida Sarasota-Manatee to study psychology.

Machado threw herself into at least a half dozen community
outreach projects and maintained stellar grades, becoming
something of a campus darling along the way. Without the demands
of a full-time job, she worked at a domestic abuse shelter and
mentored at-risk youth in her free time.

"I wasn't getting called for a job and I wasn't going to sit
around and do nothing," she said.

"I didn't want anyone to treat me
differently."

It was during a special summer course on homelessness that she
met her own mentor, Professor Bonnie Greenball-Silvestri.

At the time, only two friends knew Machado was homeless and even
then, she let them believe she was bouncing from couch to
couch: "I never told anybody I slept out of my car," she
said. "I didn't want anybody to treat me differently."

But when Silvestri asked students to journal about their thoughts
on the topic, she realized her pupil could easily have been the
subject of one of her lectures.

"I was sort of just blown away by the whole thing."

"I remember that I was sort of just blown away by the whole
thing," Silvestri told Business Insider.

"I feel like Shawna is so proud and she only wanted to tell us
because it was relevant to the class ... She doesn't feel
betrayed by the community but instead she wants to enhance it."

Reality of the road...

What her friends didn't know was that on most nights, Machado
wouldn't sleep at all.

Instead, she'd take advantage of 24-hour Starbucks or linger at Walmart where she could
study into the wee hours of the morning. By day, she caught
a few hours of shut-eye in parks or at nearby beaches.

With her polished blonde locks and an armload of schoolbooks, she
didn't strike anyone as out of the ordinary, so she was usually
left alone.

"I know there are a lot of services (for the homeless) in our
county, but I just felt like I had things that other people that
were homeless didn't have," she said. "I felt like I'd be taking
it from someone who needed it."

Making ends meet

After losing her job, Machado relied heavily on the $8,000 IRA
she'd cobbled together during her employment.

Today, there's about $300 left.

To get by, she takes odd jobs walking dogs, working part-time in
a domestic abuse shelter or helping out friends. When she's
lucky, she'll land a house-sitting gig. The latter is ideal,
since it means having a place to do her laundry for a
change.

Because she wasn't working the required 20 hours/week to qualify
for state welfare and was denied Medicaid as well, Machado relied
on her school's free health department and got used to limiting
her diet.

"I can eat pretty cheaply," she said. "A lot of times, during the
school year I would buy frozen vegetables. I'd go to (a friend's)
house to eat."

Home away from home

(Left) The backseat, where she stashes clothing and
bedding. (Right) The front seat, usually where she keeps her
books and food.Courtesy of Shawna
Machado

"Everything I own I was able to fit into my car," she said.

"That's my home for me. That's my sacred space and something
nobody can take away from me."

She stashes extra clothing at her friend's house and makes an
effort to pack light so as not to draw too much attention.

Here's what she keeps on hand:

-Blanket and pillow
-Two book bags
-An overnight bag for stays with friends
-A small suitcase for extra clothing
-A bag for food

Going public

On May 6, Machado not only walked the stage at her college
graduation but was awarded one of the highest honors the
University offers matriculates – the Outstanding Graduate Award.

"I'm totally tapped," she said. "My savings have gone, my school
loans are all used up. I have enough money to get through this
month."

It wasn't until a local newspaper covered the ceremony that
news about her living situation began to spread. Having kept her
secret hidden for so many months, Machado says she's finished
hiding the truth.

"At this point, I'm happy my story gets out because I want people
to be inspired by what I've done," she said. "It's hard. I'm
tired. But it's possible."